Abstract
Introduction
Noncombat injuries (“injuries”) greatly impact soldier health and United States (U.S.) Army readiness; they are the leading cause of outpatient medical encounters (more than two ...million annually) among active component (AC) soldiers. Noncombat musculoskeletal injuries (“MSKIs”) may account for nearly 60% of soldiers’ limited duty days and 65% of soldiers who cannot deploy for medical reasons. Injuries primarily affect readiness through increased limited duty days, decreased deployability rates, and increased medical separation rates. MSKIs are also responsible for exorbitant medical costs to the U.S. government, including service-connected disability compensation. A significant subset of soldiers develops chronic pain or long-term disability after injury; this may increase their risk for chronic disease or secondary health deficits potentially associated with MSKIs. The authors will review trends in U.S. Army MSKI rates, summarize MSKI readiness-related impacts, and highlight the importance of standardizing surveillance approaches, including injury definitions used in injury surveillance.
Materials/Methods
This review summarizes current reports and U.S. Department of Defense internal policy documents. MSKIs are defined as musculoskeletal disorders resulting from mechanical energy transfer, including traumatic and overuse injuries, which may cause pain and/or limit function. This review focuses on various U.S. Army populations, based on setting, sex, and age; the review excludes combat or battle injuries.
Results
More than half of all AC soldiers sustained at least one injury (MSKI or non-MSKI) in 2017. Overuse injuries comprise at least 70% of all injuries among AC soldiers. Female soldiers are at greater risk for MSKI than men. Female soldiers’ aerobic and muscular fitness performances are typically lower than men’s performances, which could account for their higher injury rates. Older soldiers are at greater injury risk than younger soldiers. Soldiers in noncombat arms units tend to have higher incidences of reported MSKIs, more limited duty days, and higher rates of limited duty days for chronic MSKIs than soldiers in combat arms units. MSKIs account for 65% of medically nondeployable AC soldiers. At any time, 4% of AC soldiers cannot deploy because of MSKIs. Once deployed, nonbattle injuries accounted for approximately 30% of all medical evacuations, and were the largest category of soldier evacuations from both recent major combat theaters (Iraq and Afghanistan). More than 85% of service members medically evacuated for MSKIs failed to return to the theater. MSKIs factored into (1) nearly 70% of medical disability discharges across the Army from 2011 through 2016 and (2) more than 90% of disability discharges within enlisted soldiers’ first year of service from 2010 to 2015. MSKI-related, service-connected (SC) disabilities account for 44% of all SC disabilities (more than any other body system) among compensated U.S. Global War on Terrorism veterans.
Conclusions
MSKIs significantly impact soldier health and U.S. Army readiness. MSKIs also figure prominently in medical disability discharges and long-term, service-connected disability costs. MSKI patterns and trends vary between trainees and soldiers in operational units and among military occupations and types of operational units. Coordinated injury surveillance efforts are needed to provide standardized metrics and accurately measure temporal changes in injury rates.
Abstract
Objective
The purpose of this study was to characterize the extent to which orthopedic and sports-related continuing education course descriptions approved for physical therapists in the ...United States taught interventions supported by evidence.
Methods
A review was conducted of courses available on CEU Locker from January through December 2020, estimated to represent most courses nationally available to physical therapists. This review focused specifically on courses teaching interventions for musculoskeletal conditions in adults. Specifically, courses for orthopedic and sports populations were identified. All course information was extracted, including the intervention name, course description, and target audience. Finally, clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and systematic reviews with at least moderate-level evidence published through May 1, 2021, were searched to determine if treatments were recommended or not recommended, or if no evidence existed.
Results
The review identified 2406 available courses extracted from the database. After excluding courses that did not meet inclusion criteria, duplicates, and those with incomplete or inadequate information, the final number was 319. Most courses (52.7%, n = 168) taught interventions not supported by a CPG or systematic review. Approximately one-third of courses (34.2%, n = 109) taught interventions that were recommended by a CPG. Many courses were targeted to multiple disciplines (38.9%, n = 124), whereas 89 (27.9%) were specifically for physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, or both. The specific target was unclear for 106 (33.2%) courses. Courses usually focused on multiple body regions, and exercise was the most included intervention. Soft-skill courses were the most supported by evidence (82.9%, n = 29), whereas those teaching modalities were the least supported (30.5%, n = 29).
Conclusion
Fewer than one-half of courses that focused on management of musculoskeletal disorders taught interventions supported by a CPG or systematic review, and course descriptions often misrepresented the current state of evidence. Courses required for licensure renewal might not be meeting the intended goal of keeping clinicians current with new and emerging research.
Impact
Relatively few continuing education courses on orthopedic and sports-related physical therapist interventions are based on evidence provided by CPGs or systematic reviews, and some continuing education options required for physical therapists to meet annual licensure renewal requirements might not be keeping therapists current with the latest evidence. This study provides data that can facilitate candid dialog within the profession about potential solutions.
Background:
Arthroscopic hip surgery has risen 18-fold in the past decade; however, there is a dearth of clinical trials comparing surgery with nonoperative management.
Purpose:
To determine the ...comparative effectiveness of surgery and physical therapy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome.
Study Design:
Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.
Methods:
Patients were recruited from a large military hospital after referral to the orthopaedic surgery clinic and were eligible for surgery. Of 104 eligible patients, 80 elected to participate, and the majority were active-duty service members (91.3%). No patients withdrew because of adverse events. The authors randomly selected patients to undergo either arthroscopic hip surgery (surgery group) or physical therapy (rehabilitation group). Patients in the rehabilitation group began a 12-session supervised clinic program within 3 weeks, and patients in the surgery group were scheduled for the next available surgery at a mean of 4 months after enrollment. Patient-reported outcomes of pain, disability, and perception of improvement over a 2-year period were collected. The primary outcome was the Hip Outcome Score (HOS; range, 0-100 lower scores indicating greater disability; 2 subscales: activities of daily living and sport). Secondary measures included the International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-33), Global Rating of Change (GRC), and return to work at 2 years. The primary analysis was on patients within their original randomization group.
Results:
Statistically significant improvements were seen in both groups on the HOS and iHOT-33, but the mean difference was not significant between the groups at 2 years (HOS activities of daily living, 3.8 95% CI, –6.0 to 13.6; HOS sport, 1.8 95% CI, –11.2 to 14.7; iHOT-33, 6.3 95% CI, –6.1 to 18.7). The median GRC across all patients was that they “felt about the same” (GRC = 0). Two patients assigned to the surgery group did not undergo surgery, and 28 patients in the rehabilitation group ended up undergoing surgery. A sensitivity analysis of “actual surgery” to “no surgery” did not change the outcome. Twenty (33.3%) patients who underwent surgery and 4 (33.3%) who did not undergo surgery were medically separated from military service at 2 years.
Conclusion:
There was no significant difference between the groups at 2 years. Most patients perceived little to no change in status at 2 years, and one-third of military patients were not medically fit for duty at 2 years. Limitations include a single hospital, a single surgeon, and a high rate of crossover.
Registration:
NCT01993615 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier)
Background:
The effectiveness of blood flow restriction training (BFRT) as compared with other forms of training, such as resistance training, has been evaluated in the literature in clinical and ...nonclinical populations. However, the safety of this intervention has been summarized only in healthy populations and not in clinical populations with musculoskeletal disorders.
Purpose:
To evaluate the safety and adverse events associated with BFRT in patients with musculoskeletal disorders.
Study Design:
Systematic review.
Methods:
A literature search was conducted with 3 online databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Embase). Eligibility criteria for selecting studies were as follows: (1) BFRT was used as a clinical intervention, (2) study participants had a disorder of the musculoskeletal system, (3) authors addressed adverse events, (4) studies were published in English, and (5) the intervention was performed with human participants.
Results:
Nineteen studies met eligibility criteria, with a pooled sample size of 322. Diagnoses included various knee-related disorders, inclusion body myositis, polymyositis or dermatomyositis, thoracic outlet syndrome, Achilles tendon rupture, and bony fractures. Nine studies reported no adverse events, while 3 reported rare adverse events, including an upper extremity deep vein thrombosis and rhabdomyolysis. Three case studies reported common adverse events, including acute muscle pain and acute muscle fatigue. In the randomized controlled trials, individuals exposed to BFRT were not more likely to have an adverse event than individuals exposed to exercise alone. Of the 19 studies, the adverse events were as follows: overall, 14 of 322; rare overall, 3 of 322; rare BFRT, 3 of 168; rare control, 0 of 154; any adverse BFRT, 10 of 168; any adverse control, 4 of 154. A majority of studies were excluded because they did not address safety.
Conclusion:
BFRT appears to be a safe strengthening approach for knee-related musculoskeletal disorders, but further research is needed to make definitive conclusions and to evaluate the safety in other musculoskeletal conditions. Improved definitions of adverse events related to BFRT are needed to include clear criteria for differentiating among common, uncommon, and rare adverse events. Finally, further research is needed to effectively screen who might be at risk for rare adverse events.
Recent international health events have led to an increased proliferation of remotely delivered health interventions. Even with the pandemic seemingly coming under control, the experiences of the ...past year have fueled a growth in ideas and technology for increasing the scope of remote care delivery. Unfortunately, clinicians and health systems will have difficulty with the adoption and implementation of these interventions if ongoing and future clinical trials fail to report necessary details about execution, platforms, and infrastructure related to these interventions. The purpose was to develop guidance for reporting of telehealth interventions.
A working group from the US Pain Management Collaboratory developed guidance for complete reporting of telehealth interventions. The process went through 5-step process from conception to final checklist development with input for many stakeholders, to include all 11 primary investigators with trials in the Collaboratory.
An extension focused on unique considerations relevant to telehealth interventions was developed for the Template for the Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist.
The Telehealth Intervention guideline encourages use of the Template for the Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist as a valuable tool (TIDieR-Telehealth) to improve the quality of research through a reporting guide of relevant interventions that will help maximize reproducibility and implementation.
The purpose of this scoping review was to evaluate and characterize the scope of care for low back pain that falls under the specific label of manual therapy.
PubMed database, Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, ...Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and SPORTDiscus were searched from journal inception through May 2022 for randomized controlled trials that investigated the treatment of low back pain using manual therapy. Terminology used to define manual therapy was extracted and categorized by using only the words included in the description of the intervention. An expert consultation phase was undertaken to gather feedback.
One hundred seventy-six trials met final inclusion criteria, and 169 unique terms labeled as manual therapy for the treatment of low back pain were found. The most frequent terms were mobilization (29.0%), manipulation (16.0%), and thrust (6.4%). Eight percent of trials did not define or specify what type of manual therapy was used in the study. After removing duplicates, 169 unique terms emerged within 18 categories.
Manual therapy intervention labels used in low back pain trials are highly variable. With such variation, the heterogeneity of the intervention in trials is likely large, and the likelihood that different trials are comparing the same interventions is low. Researchers should consider being more judicious with the use of the term manual therapy and provide greater detail in titles, methods, and supplementary appendices in order to improve clarity, clinical applicability, and usefulness of future research.
The ability to interpret and apply findings from manual therapy-related research for low back pain is challenging due to the heterogeneity of interventions under this umbrella term. A clear use of terminology and description of interventions by researchers will allow for improved understanding for the role of manual therapy in managing back pain.
Both physical therapy and intraarticular injections of glucocorticoids have been shown to confer clinical benefit with respect to osteoarthritis of the knee. Whether the short-term and long-term ...effectiveness for relieving pain and improving physical function differ between these two therapies is uncertain.
We conducted a randomized trial to compare physical therapy with glucocorticoid injection in the primary care setting in the U.S. Military Health System. Patients with osteoarthritis in one or both knees were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive a glucocorticoid injection or to undergo physical therapy. The primary outcome was the total score on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) at 1 year (scores range from 0 to 240, with higher scores indicating worse pain, function, and stiffness). The secondary outcomes were the time needed to complete the Alternate Step Test, the time needed to complete the Timed Up and Go test, and the score on the Global Rating of Change scale, all assessed at 1 year.
We enrolled 156 patients with a mean age of 56 years; 78 patients were assigned to each group. Baseline characteristics, including severity of pain and level of disability, were similar in the two groups. The mean (±SD) baseline WOMAC scores were 108.8±47.1 in the glucocorticoid injection group and 107.1±42.4 in the physical therapy group. At 1 year, the mean scores were 55.8±53.8 and 37.0±30.7, respectively (mean between-group difference, 18.8 points; 95% confidence interval, 5.0 to 32.6), a finding favoring physical therapy. Changes in secondary outcomes were in the same direction as those of the primary outcome. One patient fainted while receiving a glucocorticoid injection.
Patients with osteoarthritis of the knee who underwent physical therapy had less pain and functional disability at 1 year than patients who received an intraarticular glucocorticoid injection. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01427153.).
This study aimed to report compliance with stepped care management of patellofemoral pain and determine whether adherence to stepped care results in decreased recurrence and lower health care ...utilization.
A total of 60,730 participants were included, using data from the Military Health System Data Repository, a large single-payer government health system. Outcomes included total knee-related care visits and costs, knee surgeries, opioid prescriptions, and 2-year recurrence. Stepped care was based on interventions delivered within the appropriate timing and in the appropriate order (low risk/cost before high risk/cost).
A total of 54,460 (89.7%) participants received adherent Step 1 care, 10,964 (18.1%) received step 2, and 4168 (6.9%) received step 3. A total of 32.0% and 50.8%, respectively, of all patients in Step 2 and Step 3 care were adherent. Of the 2385 participants (3.9% of cohort) that received both Step 2 and Step 3 care, 24.8% of participants received adherent care. For participants receiving both Step 2 and Step 3 care, adherence resulted in cost savings (mean difference MD $1708; 95% confidence interval CI: $1241, 2175), fewer knee-related visits (MD 3.4; 95% CI 2.2, 4.7), fewer episodes of knee pain (MD 0.7; 95% CI 0.5, 0.8), fewer knee surgeries (adjusted odds ratio 0.4; 95% CI 0.3, 0.5), and fewer opioid prescriptions (adjusted odds ratio 0.6; 95% CI 0.5, 0.8).
These findings demonstrate the value of following stepped care guidelines for pain management in patients with patellofemoral pain.
Abstract
Introduction
Noncombat injuries (“injuries”) threaten soldier health and United States (U.S.) Army medical readiness, accounting for more than twice as many outpatient medical encounters ...among active component (AC) soldiers as behavioral health conditions (the second leading cause of outpatient visits). Noncombat musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs) account for more than 80% of soldiers’ injuries and 65% of medically nondeployable AC soldiers. This review focuses on MSKI risk reduction initiatives, management, and reporting challenges within the Army. The authors will summarize MSKI risk reduction efforts and challenges affecting MSKI management and reporting within the U.S. Army.
Materials/Methods
This review focuses on (1) initiatives to reduce the impact of MSKIs and risk for chronic injury/pain or long-term disability and (2) MSKI reporting challenges. This review excludes combat or battle injuries.
Results
Primary risk reduction Adherence to standardized exercise programming has reduced injury risk among trainees. Preaccession physical fitness screening may identify individuals at risk for injury or attrition during initial entry training. Forward-based strength and conditioning coaching (provided in the unit footprint) and nutritional supplementation initiatives are promising, but results are currently inconclusive concerning injury risk reduction.
Secondary risk reduction
Forward-based access to MSKI care provided by embedded athletic trainers and physical therapists within military units or primary care clinics holds promise for reducing MSKI-related limited duty days and nondeployability among AC soldiers. Early point-of-care screening for psychosocial risk factors affecting responsiveness to MSKI intervention may reduce risk for progression to chronic pain or long-term disability.
Tertiary risk reduction
Operational MSKI metrics enable commanders and clinicians to readily identify soldiers with nonresolving MSKIs. Monthly injury reports to Army leadership increase command focus on soldiers with nonresolving MSKIs.
Conclusions
Standardized exercise programming has reduced trainee MSKI rates. Secondary risk reduction initiatives show promise for reducing MSKI-related duty limitations and nondeployability among AC soldiers; timely identification/evaluation and appropriate, early management of MSKIs are essential. Tertiary risk reduction initiatives show promise for identifying soldiers whose chronic musculoskeletal conditions may render them unfit for continued military service.
Clinicians must document MSKI care with sufficient specificity (including diagnosis and external cause coding) to enable large-scale systematic MSKI surveillance and analysis informing focused MSKI risk reduction efforts. Historical changes in surveillance methods and injury definitions make it difficult to compare injury rates and trends over time. However, the U.S. Army’s standardized injury taxonomy will enable consistent classification of current and future injuries by mechanism of energy transfer and diagnosis. The Army’s electronic physical profiling system further enables
standardized documentation of MSKI-related duty/work restrictions and mechanisms of injury. These evolving surveillance tools ideally ensure continual advancement of military injury surveillance and serve as models for other military and civilian health care organizations.
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